The bill would pardon prisoners who have been wrongly detained. There are an estimated 50,000 Iraqis that have been jointly arrested by the US military (26,000) and the Iraqi security forces (24,000).  The number prisoners has spiked since the increase in the military strength by the US military, which has cut down on insurgent violence.

The main target of the bill is to free uncharged prisoners who have not been linked to dangerous terrorist activities and yet have been held indefinitely.   Most of the prisoners are Sunni prisoners, which has caused rising tension.  A main hope by the drafters is that the release of the prisoners will limit some of the hostility among the rivaling Sunnis and Shiites factions.

For more information, please see:

All Headline News- U.S. Optimistic Over The Release Of Thousands Of Iraqi Detainees In 2008- 26 December 2007

Jurist- Iraq cabinet approves pardon of ‘innocent’ detainees: report – 26 December 2007

PBS News hour- New Law Could Pardon Thousands in Iraq- 26 December 2007

YAHOO! News (Reuters)- Iraqi cabinet approves draft general pardon law- 26 December 2007